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Cathays Cemetery Memorial Panel

2025 - Funding to support a memorial panel to Thomas Henry Thomas 1839-1915

Although best known as an artist Thomas Henry Thomas was very important to the arts and culture in Wales generally for example as one of the founders of the National Museum of Wales and the first Herald Bard of the Gorsedd.  The Arts Society Cardiff provided funding to help enable the Friends of Cathays Cemetery, where Thomas Henry Thomas is buried, to commission a memorial panel highlighting his significance to the arts in Wales.

 

Forget-Me-Not Chorus

2024 - Funding to support the Forget-me-not Chorus Christmas Sharing Event

“Described as ‘a spa for the soul’, Forget-me-not Chorus supports those living with and alongside dementia through the power of song, to bring joy and meaning back into their (and our) lives.”

The Cardiff Arts Society provided funding to the Chorus to help support the local community choirs (Cardiff North, Cardiff South & Vale, and Newport) at their Christmas Sharing event in December. All the singers, their carers as well as families and friends were included in the joyful celebration of singing which was a very special prelude to Christmas 2024. This project was led by Rachel Lewis.

Herbert Thompson Primary School

2023 - Funding to purchase arts related library books

The school is in a deprived area of Cardiff, Ely, and has a high  proportion of students with learning difficulties. It had recently recived funding to help create a library but with reduced school budgets were unable to stock the shelves with arts related books of good quality. The Arts Society Cardiff  provided a grant to buy appropriate arts and arts-related texts which reflect the requirements of the Curriculum for Wales, Expressive Arts. The aim of this grant is to inspire several cohorts of children to develop a love of art. This project was led by Carole Jones.

Radnor Primary School

2021 – Funding to purchase glockenspiels

During the 2020 - 2021 Covid pandemic, singing was banned in all schools.  The staff at Radnor Primary School, Cardiff, wanted to continue to enable their children to make music in some form.  They trialled the use of glockenspiels with the Charanga online music scheme.  It was quite successful in that it facilitated whole class playing and provided opportunities for individuals to improvise, but it was also challenging because the school did not have enough instruments for each child in a class. The Arts Society Cardiff provided funding to enable the school to buy enough new instruments for each child in the same group to be able to play at the same time. This project was led by Caroline Ritchie.

Young Artists, Designers and Makers

2018 - Collaboration between the Cardiff School of Art and Design, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Insole Court, Llandaff, Cardiff

In May 2018 the Society collaborated in a project with Cardiff School of Art and Design and Insole Court.  First year students were given the task of creating a piece of art that would reflect the interesting history of Insole Court.  As some of the Society's members volunteer at the house, we were keen to see how these young artists would capture the cultural heritage of the building.  The students produced varied pieces of art and happily explained the rationale for their exhibits when their work was displayed after the competition. This project was led by Di Griffiths.

The three pieces of work which shared the prize money, donated by The Arts Society Cardiff, were exceptional.

  • In the Butler's Pantry ceramic soaps were displayed in the original bulter's sink, reflecting the hard work that the servants of the house carried out just using ordinary soap.
  • An orchid under a glass dome related to the fact that Violet Insole (1883-1932) was a very successful breeder and exhibitor of irises. She raised hundreds of varieties and was a founder member of the British Iris Society.
  • Three vases were designed with coats of arms and incorporated black areas, which reflected how involved the Insoles were as pioneering coal mine-owners and shippers during the Welsh steam coal's dominance of the global trade in the 19th century.

Young Carers

2016 – Exploration of places for Young Carers to escape to, and the creation of Welsh-style baskets to encompass their aspirations and thoughts

The Arts Society Cardiff funded a project to explore the feelings of a group of Young Carers about places to which they could, or wanted, to escape. Using photos, drawings and gathered evidence from the places visited, the Young Carers created Welsh-style baskets called Cyntells which incorporated most of these places and the reasons for their choices. The baskets were displayed in the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, during Carers’ Week 2016.  This project was led by Jacquie James.

Cathays Cemetery Memorial Panel

2025 - Funding to support a memorial panel to Thomas Henry Thomas 1839-1915

Although best known as an artist Thomas Henry Thomas was very important to the arts and culture in Wales generally for example as one of the founders of the National Museum of Wales and the first Herald Bard of the Gorsedd.  The Arts Society Cardiff provided funding to help enable the Friends of Cathays Cemetery, where Thomas Henry Thomas is buried, to commission a memorial panel highlighting his significance to the arts in Wales.

 

Forget-Me-Not Chorus

2024 - Funding to support the Forget-me-not Chorus Christmas Sharing Event

“Described as ‘a spa for the soul’, Forget-me-not Chorus supports those living with and alongside dementia through the power of song, to bring joy and meaning back into their (and our) lives.”

The Cardiff Arts Society provided funding to the Chorus to help support the local community choirs (Cardiff North, Cardiff South & Vale, and Newport) at their Christmas Sharing event in December. All the singers, their carers as well as families and friends were included in the joyful celebration of singing which was a very special prelude to Christmas 2024. This project was led by Rachel Lewis.

Herbert Thompson Primary School

2023 - Funding to purchase arts related library books

The school is in a deprived area of Cardiff, Ely, and has a high  proportion of students with learning difficulties. It had recently recived funding to help create a library but with reduced school budgets were unable to stock the shelves with arts related books of good quality. The Arts Society Cardiff  provided a grant to buy appropriate arts and arts-related texts which reflect the requirements of the Curriculum for Wales, Expressive Arts. The aim of this grant is to inspire several cohorts of children to develop a love of art. This project was led by Carole Jones.

Radnor Primary School

2021 – Funding to purchase glockenspiels

During the 2020 - 2021 Covid pandemic, singing was banned in all schools.  The staff at Radnor Primary School, Cardiff, wanted to continue to enable their children to make music in some form.  They trialled the use of glockenspiels with the Charanga online music scheme.  It was quite successful in that it facilitated whole class playing and provided opportunities for individuals to improvise, but it was also challenging because the school did not have enough instruments for each child in a class. The Arts Society Cardiff provided funding to enable the school to buy enough new instruments for each child in the same group to be able to play at the same time. This project was led by Caroline Ritchie.

Young Artists, Designers and Makers

2018 - Collaboration between the Cardiff School of Art and Design, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Insole Court, Llandaff, Cardiff

In May 2018 the Society collaborated in a project with Cardiff School of Art and Design and Insole Court.  First year students were given the task of creating a piece of art that would reflect the interesting history of Insole Court.  As some of the Society's members volunteer at the house, we were keen to see how these young artists would capture the cultural heritage of the building.  The students produced varied pieces of art and happily explained the rationale for their exhibits when their work was displayed after the competition. This project was led by Di Griffiths.

The three pieces of work which shared the prize money, donated by The Arts Society Cardiff, were exceptional.

  • In the Butler's Pantry ceramic soaps were displayed in the original bulter's sink, reflecting the hard work that the servants of the house carried out just using ordinary soap.
  • An orchid under a glass dome related to the fact that Violet Insole (1883-1932) was a very successful breeder and exhibitor of irises. She raised hundreds of varieties and was a founder member of the British Iris Society.
  • Three vases were designed with coats of arms and incorporated black areas, which reflected how involved the Insoles were as pioneering coal mine-owners and shippers during the Welsh steam coal's dominance of the global trade in the 19th century.

Young Carers

2016 – Exploration of places for Young Carers to escape to, and the creation of Welsh-style baskets to encompass their aspirations and thoughts

The Arts Society Cardiff funded a project to explore the feelings of a group of Young Carers about places to which they could, or wanted, to escape. Using photos, drawings and gathered evidence from the places visited, the Young Carers created Welsh-style baskets called Cyntells which incorporated most of these places and the reasons for their choices. The baskets were displayed in the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, during Carers’ Week 2016.  This project was led by Jacquie James.